Atrocitus
History Origin Atrocitus, originally known as Atros, was an alien native to the planet Ryut in Space Sector 0666. Countless years ago, by the time he reached adulthood, he had worked to become a psychologist and was married with his wife who had a young daughter. Their peaceful life came to an end when the renegade Oan Krona induced a programming malfunction in the Manhunters. This led to them exterminating all life in Space Sector 666 bringing about the devastating period known as the Massacre of Sector 666. Atros's homeworld was ravaged in this time and he saw his wife as well as his child ruthlessly incinerated by the android Manhunters which left Atrocitus as one of the few survivors. In fact, Atros became one of only five beings in the entire sector to escape death. He and the other four survivors formed a terrorist cabal known as the Five Inversions, bent on the destruction of the Guardians of the Universe and all who served them, and with Atrocitus serving as their leader. The Five Inversions performed a ritual which allowed them to peer into the future and discover the prophecy of the Blackest Night, which decreed that all life in the universe would end. They ruled a massive domain known as the Empire of Tears, until the Guardians of the Universe defeated the Five Inversions and imprisoned them on their capital, Ysmault. After Abin Sur arrives trying to locate survivors of a crash, he went to the imprisoned demons and asks for their assistance. Atrocitus refuses to help him, but his comrade Qull freely offered to answer three questions: the location of the survivors, the fate of Abin Sur, and the prophecy of the Blackest Night. Sur told this to the Guardians of the Universe, in turn kept the Five Inversions on Ysmault instead of transfering them to Oan sciencells. Following this, Sur began to make periodic visits to Ysmault, to learn how to prevent the Blackest Night. Sur even went so far as to free Atrocitus from his imprisonment so he could lead the Green Lantern to Earth, the birthplace of "the black" that would end the universe. Caged in Sur's starship, Atrocitus instilled fear in Sur, allowing the yellow impurity to seep into his willpower constructs and weakening them enough to escape. After slashing the Green Lantern in the chest, mortally wounding him , Atrocitus jumped from a point high Earth's atmosphere to escape Sur's failing ship. Atrocitus continued his violent rampage on the planet Earth. After killing an unspecified number of Air Force troopers, Atrocitus recited an oath that will possibly become the battle cry of the Red Lanterns and performed a ritual which gives him the name of the herald of the Blackest Night: William Hand. Atrocitus created a device using gun parts which acted as a cosmic divining rod, and used it to lead him to Hand (the device eventually became Hand's criminal weapon). Once he tracked down the human who, it is said, will play a prominent role in the coming of the Blackest Night, he attacked, and planned to take Hand's innards back to Ysmault. Before his plan proceeded, however, Sinestro and rookie Green Lantern Hal Jordan intercepted him, spiriting William Hand to safety. Atrocitus used his newly-constructed device to sap the power from their rings, leaving them with only their wits to defend them before the master of the Five Inversions. Sinestro is able to restore their rings' powers through his power battery, but Atrocitus still has the upper hand. Just as he is about to crush Sinestro with a power shovel, Hal uses his ring to blow up the yellow vehicle, suprising Atrocitus greatly, as he believes Green Lantern Rings do not work on yellow. Defeated, Atrocitus is contained by Sinestro, and taken to Oa. Later after Sinestro dropped Atrocitus back on Ysmault, Atrocitus and the other Inversions imparted a prophecy of the eventual rebellion of Sinestro's homeworld of Korugar. Sinestro didn't believe his lies and told him unlike Abin Sur he would not fall to fear. Connection to The Blackest Night Atrocitus is shown in the aftermath of the Sinestro Corps War to be the first to forge a Red Lantern Power Battery, utilizing the power of rage. He said that his first new victim would be the one who called himself "The Greatest Green Lantern:" Sinestro, who had long since abandoned the Green Lantern Corps to forge a Corps in his own namesake. His Red Lantern Power Battery needed to be christened with blood, and he used it to beat Qull to death. Swearing to destroy Sinestro, Atrocitus became the first member of the Red Lantern Corps. Rise of The Red Lantern Corps Still trapped on Ysmault, Atroticus was still filled with hatred and rage and knowing the prophecy of the Blackest Night, killed the other four Inversions and forged a Red Lantern of blood and rage. Using his newfound instrument, he began his own corps dedicated by their hatred of Sinestro and his corps. The first of his corps to be recruiting was former Green Lantern Laira, who had been expelled from the Corps for killing Amon Sur in cold blood. Once his corps was assembled, Atrocitus and his followers headed to find Sinestro, who was being transported by a squad of Green Lanterns to Korugar for execution. When Atrocitus got there, he discovered that Sinestro Corps members were there too and ambusing the Green Lanterns. Atrocitus and his troops attacked, killing both members of the Green Lantern Corps and Sinestro Corps. They overwhelmed the other Corps and managed to capture Sinestro, taking him to Ysmault where he was crucified yet alive whilst Atrocitus planned his revenge. After preventing his minions from killing Sinestro, Atrocitus used his blood magic and power of prophecy to determine the one thing that the leader of the Sinestro Corps feared most which was losing the life of his daughter. Before he could proceed with his plans, the Red Lantern Corps was attacked by Hal Jordan, the Blue Lantern Corps and members of the Sinestro Corps determined to free their captured leader. Despite the addition of the powerful Blue Lanterns, Atrocitus and his forces managed to overpower their attackers and the leader of the Red Lantern Corps revealed that he knew the secret of the blue light which was that it required the green light of willpower to charge it. During the fight, Laira was killed by Sinestro which filled Hal Jordan with rage and led to him being taken over by a Red Power Ring. Becoming a Red Lantern, Atrocitus urged his new protege to kill Sinestro but it was the Blue Lantern Saint Walker who saved Jordan by placing a Blue Power Ring on him. This led to the expunging of the Red Power Ring and Hal Jordan sent a powerful blast that wounded Atrocitus who was forced to flee the battlefield. Atrocitus later used his magic to discover the homeworld of the Blue Lantern Corps in an effort to track them down. The Blackest Night Whilst still on Ysmault, Atrocitus and some of his Red Lanterns came under attack from the Lost Lanterns who sought to retrieve their fallen former comrade Laira. During the battle, they witnessed Black Lantern Power Rings going onto prison worlds surface and reanimated not only Laira but the Five Inversions turning them into members of the Black Lantern Corps. The Five Inversions attacked Atrocitus and even tore out his heart seemingly killing the Red Lantern leader, however, his power ring kept him alive and he destroyed the undead Black Lanterns. Atrocitus later managed to find the fleeing Larfleeze who was escaping an attack from Black Lanterns. Destroying his pursuers, he demanded that the leader of the Orange Lantern Corps hand over his Central Power Battery. During the initial skirmish, he managed to steal Agent Orange's Central Power Battery but the two were both besieged by Black Lanterns. Atrocitus at first managed to hold them back but was knocked out by Larfleeze who attacked the Black Lanterns but his Lantern constructs did not aid him. The pair were saved by the arrival of Saint Walker, Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris and Indigo. Later, when Atrocitus woke up, he attacked Sinestro and intended to get his revenge; fighting the various Corps leaders who stood in his path. Whilst attempting to subdue him, Saint Walker tapped into the blue light of hope and showed it to Atrocitus in order to calm him by showing him his life on what it could have been. Hal Jordan later managed to restrain him and they attempt to convince him to aid them in destroying the Black Lantern Corps. Sinestro later told Atrocitus that he would aid him in destroying the Guardians of the Universe in light of the sins they had committed. However, the Red Lantern showed that he did not care. Later, Indigo transports them to the last known location of the Black Lantern Central Power Battery which happened to be Ryut. Once there, Atrocitus broke down in despair as he was reminded of his past and the pain he had felt. Saint Walker attempted to console him by recanting his own tragic past but Atrocitus angrily told him that they were nothing alike as the Blue Lantern faced tragedy by accident whilst he himself along with his people were completely innocent. The leader of the Red Lantern Corps finally stated that they deserved nothing that the Manhunters had inflicted on them. Agreeing to join with the other Corps to destroy Nekron, Atrocitus, however, vowed that he would kill the Guardians once the Blackest Night was over. Atrocitus later powered up with the other corps leaders with the exception of Larfleeze who's greed needed to be sated. For a time, the Red Lantern in his angry considered killing Agent Orange in order end his constant chatter. He later participated with the other corps in an attack against Nekron on Earth at Coast City. Combining the various lights, they created a White Light to attack Nekron but this simply powered him further and led to him releasing more Black Power Rings that latched onto various reborn superheroes on Earth thus turning them into more Black Lanterns. As the battle continued, the Black Lantern Spectre entered into the field and threatened to destroy the New Guardians. However, Hal Jordan decided to unleash the Parallax Entity by allowing it to take him as a host. Using its power, he destroyed the Black Lantern Crispus Allen inside the Spectre thus freeing it from the Black Lantern Corps control. Feeling its rage, Atrocitus attempted to claim the Spectre as he believed it to be the emotional embodiment of rage. However, the Spectre managed to shrug off its anger and revealed to Atrocitus that it had encountered the Rage Entity before and warned him not to pursue it. The Brightest Day At an unspecified time, Ganthet and Guy Gardner invite Atrocitus to a secret meeting, where he threatens Ganthet that if the proposal is not worth it, he shall destroy him, though Ganthet is entirely unconcerned. Ganthet explains something off-panel to Atrocitus and Guy, to which Guy points out gravely that it will mean the end of his friendship with Hal Jordan. Ganthet grimly says that he must make some sacrifices too, though the three all agree to this secret pact. Afterwards, Atrocitus was seen building his Wall of Rage and tasked Bleez to follow Guy Gardner into the Unknown Sectors as part of the secret pact he had made. During this time, Atrocitus was operating in secret on Earth, specifically in New York City where he was accompanied by Dex-Starr as they began searching for the Rage Entity. Their search led to Atrocitus killing a number of criminals in the subway below the city and he later used their blood to perform a ritual in order to see out the entities. There, he saw all of the entity signets except for Ion and Parallax, both of whom have been captured by a mysterious figure. Afterwards, Hal, Carol and Sinestro come upon him where they ended up fighting him due to the deaths he had caused. In the midst of the fight, Atrocitus demonstrated the ability to craft constructs, notably one in the form of Mera who Jordan believed he has a soft spot for her. As they fought, Lobo interrupted the fight claiming that he had been paid to kill Atrocitus which led to Jordan and Ferris entering into the fight to save Atrocitus. They managed to cause Lobo to flee back into space where he met in secret with Atrocitus who revealed that he had hired Lobo in order to gain the aid of Jordan and save the Entities of the Emotional Spectrum. As a reward for his actions, Atrocitus gifted Lobo with a Red Lantern Power Ring. Now allied with the others, Atrocitus journeyed with Sinestro to Montana State Prison on Earth in order to find the Butcher Entity. There, he had discovered the local Humans struggling to contain a fire that was formed by the Butchers rage as it had massacred many of the criminals in the prison. Learning that it was seeking a host, Atrocitus also felt a great amount of rage surrounding the surviving prisoners and learnt that they were murderers. This led to him destroying the bus and killing the surviving criminals in order to make them pay for the pain, suffering as well as rage they had caused to their victims. When Sinestro queried him on why he had done so, Atrocitus said that those who had taken life did not deserve to live. The Korugarian was simply amused at the irony of the statement since Atrocitus had taken lives as well to which the Red Lantern commented that he had not taken Sinestro's yet. But the Sinestro Corps leader simply stated that he awaited the time when they would fight but he said he would be more pleased to see the expression on Hal Jordan's face after learning Atrocitus had killed those criminals. The Red Lantern later tracked the Butcher Entity into a prison where it possessed James Kim who was enraged at the actions of the murderer of his daughter. Arriving at the scene was also the Spectre who intended to eliminate the Rage Entity. Atrocitus attempted to stop the Spectre but was temporarily neutralized but the Spectre was knocked out of the fight by the rage empowered James Kim. In the aftermath, Kim killed his daughters murderer and his rage abated. With the Butcher's strength fading, Atrocitus offered himself as a host and that moment allowed the Spectre to weaken he bodiless Rage Entity. This allowed the Red Lantern to trap it into the Red Lantern Power Battery. Atrocitus later stopped the Spectre from killing James Kim for his murder of his daughters killer and challenged the Spectre's lack of understanding of its purpose. The Spectre attempted to place his judgement on Atrocitus instead but deemed that he was on a holy mission but in time they would meet again. After departing, he rendevoused with the New Guardians as they battled the mysterious being who had been collecting the Entities. This turned out to be the renegade Maltusian Krona and in the struggle the Red Lantern sought his revenge. However, Krona uncovered the location of the Rage Entity from Atrocitus and later forcibly took the Entities from their hosts and prisons whereupon he departed for Oa. The New Guardians went into pursuit and discovered that Krona had made a base of operations on Ryut where the Book of The Black now resided which enraged Atrocitus who revealed that he knew of Krona's existence all along with the pact with Ganthet formed in order to bring justice to the Maltusian villain. The New Guardians partially experienced a hidden chapter within the book and later came under attack from Lyssa Drak who used the chains from the Book of The Black to imprison all the New Guardians except for Hal Jordan who escaped with their Power Rings. Atrocitus's Power Ring was later used by Guy Gardner after Krona had subverted the Green Lantern Corps to his will. While Hal Jordan ultimately killed Krona, Ganthet would deliver his body to Atrocitus, keeping his word that Atrocitus would have Krona "in the end." Powers and Abilities Powers Superhuman Strength Atrocitus has shown feats of Superhuman Strength. He can lift and throw items as large as bulldozers and tear apart metal with seemingly little effort. Superhuman Durability Claws Sorcery: using blood magic he is able to call upon the necromantic powers formally used by the Empire of Tears and later the Five Inversions. This magic is steeped in ancient and complex rituals. *'Precognition': Via the use of blood rituals, Atrocitus is able to discern vestiges of the future, with general prophecy apparently being easier then specific knowledge. He and the other inversions where able to fortell the Blackest Night prophecy and determine the beginning of the fall of Sinestro from the Green Lantern Corps. However, when he was on earth looking for William Hand, he had to enact a blood ritual to discern his name. His particular form of precognition, according to Scar, is apparently primitive, as she claims to be able to use the same abilities, but with far more accuracy, and without the need of blood sacrifice. Abilities *'Boundless Rage': over countless millennia of imprisonment Atrocitus has developed a tremendous rage and hatred for his jailers, the Guardians of the Universe, and their Green Lantern Corps. *'Inventive' *'Occultist' *'Red Lantern Ring Mastery': Atrocitus can use his ring to such great effect he can make Energy Constructs, something most Red Lantern's are incapable of summoning the concentration to do. Equipment *Red Lantern Power Battery Transportation *Flight Weapons *Red Lantern Power Ring Notes *In the Reverse Flash altered world of Flashpoint, Atrocitus was sucessful in his murder of Hand. Doing so unleashed Nekron and the Black Lanterns. For this, Atrocitus was crucified on the planet Ryut. He is later approached by Sinestro, inquiring about the prophecy of the Flashpoint. *In Red Lanterns 1, the characters real name is revealed to be Atros and him being originally a psychologist before the Massacre inflicted his world. Trivia * Atrocitus is the only Current Red Lantern to have the ability to make Energy Constructs (besides Antipathy, although in her case, she was limited to large scissors). See Also *Atrocitus/Gallery In Other Media *Atrocitus makes his first animated appearance in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights where his backstory is revealed by Sinestro who states that the red skinned alien was imprisoned on Ysmault for 700 years along with the other Five Inversions. Whilst there, a ship crashed on the prison planet whereupon Atrocitus killed its occupants and fled in order to avenge himself on the Guardians by slaying Green Lanterns where he eliminated three after which he targeted Abin Sur. After being defeated, he is returned to Ysmault where he tells Abin Sur of a War of Light where Sinestro's Corps of fear destroys the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians. However, Abin Sur does not believe this tale and seals Atrocitus in his prison cell. Links *http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Atrocitus_%28New_Earth%29 *http://www.comicvine.com/atrocitus/29-51905/ Category: Red Lantern Corps Members Category:New Guardians (The Blackest Night) Members